Effect of combined naltrexone and bupropion therapy on the brain's reactivity to food cues.

OBJECTIVE: The significant weight loss observed with combination naltrexone-sustained release (SR) 32 mg and bupropion SR 360 mg (NB32) therapy is thought to be due, in part, to bupropion stimulation of hypothalamic pro-opiomelanocortin (POMC) neurons, and naltrexone blockade of opioid receptor-mediated POMC autoinhibition, but the neurobiological mechanisms are not fully understood. We assessed changes in brain reactivity to food cues before and after NB32 treatment. METHODS: Forty women (31.1±8.1 years; body mass index: 32.5±3.9) received 4 weeks of NB32 or placebo, and were instructed to maintain their dietary and exercise habits. Functional magnetic resonance imaging responses (analyzed using SPM2 and clusters (>100 pixels)) to a 5-min food video (preparation of the subject's favorite food) and a 5-min neutral video (manipulation of neutral objects) under conditions of mild food deprivation (∼14 h) were assessed before and after treatment. RESULTS: The food cues video induced positive brain activation in visual and prefrontal cortices, insula and subcortical brain regions. The group-by-treatment interaction on regional brain activation was significant and showed that whereas NB32 attenuated the activation in the hypothalamus in response to food cues (P<0.01), it enhanced activation in regions involved in inhibitory control (anterior cingulate), internal awareness (superior frontal, insula, superior parietal) and memory (hippocampal) regions (whole-brain analysis; P<0.05). CONCLUSIONS: Blunting the hypothalamic reactivity to food cues while enhancing the activation of regions involved with self-control and internal awareness by NB32 might underlie its therapeutic benefits in obesity.

Decreased dopamine activity predicts relapse in methamphetamine abusers.

Studies in methamphetamine (METH) abusers showed that the decreases in brain dopamine (DA) function might recover with protracted detoxification. However, the extent to which striatal DA function in METH predicts recovery has not been evaluated. Here we assessed whether striatal DA activity in METH abusers is associated with clinical outcomes. Brain DA D2 receptor (D2R) availability was measured with positron emission tomography and [(11)C]raclopride in 16 METH abusers, both after placebo and after challenge with 60 mg oral methylphenidate (MPH) (to measure DA release) to assess whether it predicted clinical outcomes. For this purpose, METH abusers were tested within 6 months of last METH use and then followed up for 9 months of abstinence. In parallel, 15 healthy controls were tested. METH abusers had lower D2R availability in caudate than in controls. Both METH abusers and controls showed decreased striatal D2R availability after MPH and these decreases were smaller in METH than in controls in left putamen. The six METH abusers who relapsed during the follow-up period had lower D2R availability in dorsal striatum than in controls, and had no D2R changes after MPH challenge. The 10 METH abusers who completed detoxification did not differ from controls neither in striatal D2R availability nor in MPH-induced striatal DA changes. These results provide preliminary evidence that low striatal DA function in METH abusers is associated with a greater likelihood of relapse during treatment. Detection of the extent of DA dysfunction may be helpful in predicting therapeutic outcomes.

Motivation deficit in ADHD is associated with dysfunction of the dopamine reward pathway.

Attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is typically characterized as a disorder of inattention and hyperactivity/impulsivity but there is increasing evidence of deficits in motivation. Using positron emission tomography (PET), we showed decreased function in the brain dopamine reward pathway in adults with ADHD, which, we hypothesized, could underlie the motivation deficits in this disorder. To evaluate this hypothesis, we performed secondary analyses to assess the correlation between the PET measures of dopamine D2/D3 receptor and dopamine transporter availability (obtained with [(11)C]raclopride and [(11)C]cocaine, respectively) in the dopamine reward pathway (midbrain and nucleus accumbens) and a surrogate measure of trait motivation (assessed using the Achievement scale on the Multidimensional Personality Questionnaire or MPQ) in 45 ADHD participants and 41 controls. The Achievement scale was lower in ADHD participants than in controls (11±5 vs 14±3, P<0.001) and was significantly correlated with D2/D3 receptors (accumbens: r=0.39, P<0.008; midbrain: r=0.41, P<0.005) and transporters (accumbens: r=0.35, P<0.02) in ADHD participants, but not in controls. ADHD participants also had lower values in the Constraint factor and higher values in the Negative Emotionality factor of the MPQ but did not differ in the Positive Emotionality factor-and none of these were correlated with the dopamine measures. In ADHD participants, scores in the Achievement scale were also negatively correlated with symptoms of inattention (CAARS A, E and SWAN I). These findings provide evidence that disruption of the dopamine reward pathway is associated with motivation deficits in ADHD adults, which may contribute to attention deficits and supports the use of therapeutic interventions to enhance motivation in ADHD.

Positive emotionality is associated with baseline metabolism in orbitofrontal cortex and in regions of the default network.

Positive emotionality (PEM) (personality construct of well-being, achievement/motivation, social and closeness) has been associated with striatal dopamine D2 receptor availability in healthy controls. As striatal D2 receptors modulate activity in orbitofrontal cortex (OFC) and cingulate (brain regions that process natural and drug rewards), we hypothesized that these regions underlie PEM. To test this, we assessed the correlation between baseline brain glucose metabolism (measured with positron emission tomography and [(18)F]fluoro-deoxyglucose) and scores on PEM (obtained from the multidimensional personality questionnaire or MPQ) in healthy controls (n = 47). Statistical parametric mapping (SPM) analyses revealed that PEM was positively correlated (P(c)<0.05, voxel corrected) with metabolism in various cortical regions that included orbitofrontal (Brodman area, BA 11, 47) and cingulate (BA 23, 32) and other frontal (BA 10, 9), parietal (precuneus, BA 40) and temporal (BA 20, 21) regions that overlap with the brain's default mode network (DMN). Correlations with the other two main MPQ personality dimensions (negative emotionality and constraint) were not significant (SPM P(c)<0.05). Our results corroborate an involvement of orbitofrontal and cingulate regions in PEM, which is considered a trait that protects against substance use disorders. As dysfunction of OFC and cingulate is a hallmark of addiction, these findings support a common neural basis underlying protective personality factors and brain dysfunction underlying substance use disorders. In addition, we also uncovered an association between PEM and baseline metabolism in regions from the DMN, which suggests that PEM may relate to global cortical processes that are active during resting conditions (introspection, mind wandering).

Methylphenidate enhances brain activation and deactivation responses to visual attention and working memory tasks in healthy controls.

Methylphenidate (MPH) is a stimulant drug that amplifies dopamineric and noradrenergic signaling in the brain, which is believed to underlie its cognition enhancing effects. However, the neurobiological effects by which MPH improves cognition are still poorly understood. Here, functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) was used together with working memory (WM) and visual attention (VA) tasks to test the hypothesis that 20mg oral MPH would increase activation in the dorsal attention network (DAN) and deactivation in the default mode network (DMN) as well as improve performance during cognitive tasks in healthy men. The group of subjects that received MPH (MPH group; N=16) had higher activation than the group of subjects who received no medication (control group: N=16) in DAN regions (parietal and prefrontal cortex, regions increasingly activated with increased cognitive load) and had increased deactivation in the insula and posterior cingulate cortex (regions increasingly deactivated with increased cognitive load) and these effects did not differ for the VA and the WM tasks. These findings provide the first evidence that MPH enhances activation of the DAN whereas it alters DMN deactivation. This suggests that MPH (presumably by amplifying dopamine and noradrenergic signaling) modulates cognition in part through its effects on DAN and DMN.

Impairment of attentional networks after 1 night of sleep deprivation.

Here, we assessed the effects of sleep deprivation (SD) on brain activation and performance to a parametric visual attention task. Fourteen healthy subjects underwent functional magnetic resonance imaging of ball-tracking tasks with graded levels of difficulty during rested wakefulness (RW) and after 1 night of SD. Self-reports of sleepiness were significantly higher and cognitive performance significantly lower for all levels of difficulty for SD than for RW. For both the RW and the SD sessions, task difficulty was associated with activation in parietal cortex and with deactivation in visual and insular cortices and cingulate gyrus but this pattern of activation/deactivation was significantly lower for SD than for RW. In addition, thalamic activation was higher for SD than for RW, and task difficulty was associated with increases in thalamic activation for the RW but not the SD condition. This suggests that thalamic resources, which under RW conditions are used to process increasingly complex tasks, are being used to maintain alertness with increasing levels of fatigue during SD. Thalamic activation was also inversely correlated with parietal and prefrontal activation. Thus, the thalamic hyperactivation during SD could underlie the reduced activation in parietal and blunted deactivation in cingulate cortices, impairing the attentional networks that are essential for accurate visuospatial attention performance.

Imaging dopamine's role in drug abuse and addiction.

Dopamine is involved in drug reinforcement but its role in addiction is less clear. Here we describe PET imaging studies that investigate dopamine's involvement in drug abuse in the human brain. In humans the reinforcing effects of drugs are associated with large and fast increases in extracellular dopamine, which mimic those induced by physiological dopamine cell firing but are more intense and protracted. Since dopamine cells fire in response to salient stimuli, supraphysiological activation by drugs is experienced as highly salient (driving attention, arousal, conditioned learning and motivation) and with repeated drug use may raise the thresholds required for dopamine cell activation and signaling. Indeed, imaging studies show that drug abusers have marked decreases in dopamine D2 receptors and in dopamine release. This decrease in dopamine function is associated with reduced regional activity in orbitofrontal cortex (involved in salience attribution; its disruption results in compulsive behaviors), cingulate gyrus (involved in inhibitory control; its disruption results in impulsivity) and dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (involved in executive function; its disruption results in impaired regulation of intentional actions). In parallel, conditioning triggered by drugs leads to enhanced dopamine signaling when exposed to conditioned cues, which then drives the motivation to procure the drug in part by activation of prefrontal and striatal regions. These findings implicate deficits in dopamine activity-inked with prefrontal and striatal deregulation-in the loss of control and compulsive drug intake that results when the addicted person takes the drugs or is exposed to conditioned cues. The decreased dopamine function in addicted individuals also reduces their sensitivity to natural reinforcers. Therapeutic interventions aimed at restoring brain dopaminergic tone and activity of cortical projection regions could improve prefrontal function, enhance inhibitory control and interfere with impulsivity and compulsive drug administration while helping to motivate the addicted person to engage in non-drug related behaviors.

Role of the anterior cingulate and medial orbitofrontal cortex in processing drug cues in cocaine addiction.

Our goal in the current report was to design a new functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) task to probe the role of the anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) and orbitofrontal cortex (OFC) in processing of salient symptom-related cues during the simultaneous performance of an unrelated task in drug-addicted persons. We used a novel fMRI color-word drug Stroop task in 14 individuals with cocaine use disorders; subjects had to press for color of drug vs. matched neutral words. Although there were no accuracy or speed differences between the drug and neutral conditions in the current sample of subjects, drug words were more negatively valenced than the matched neutral words. Further, consistent with prior reports in individuals with other psychopathologies using different Stroop fMRI paradigms, our more classical color-word Stroop design revealed bilateral activations in the caudal-dorsal anterior cingulate cortex (cdACC) and hypoactivations in the rostro-ventral anterior cingulate cortex/medial orbitofrontal cortex (rACC/mOFC). A trend for larger rACC/mOFC hypoactivations to the drug than neutral words did not survive whole-brain corrections. Nevertheless, correlation analyses indicated that (1) the more the cdACC drug-related activation, the more negative the valence attributed to the drug words (r=-0.86, P<0.0001) but not neutral words; and (2) the more the rACC/mOFC hypoactivation to drug minus neutral words, the more the errors committed specifically to the drug minus neutral words (r=0.85, P<0.0001). Taken together, results suggest that this newly developed drug Stroop fMRI task may be a sensitive biobehavioral assay of the functions recruited for the regulation of responses to salient symptom-related stimuli in drug-addicted individuals.

Widespread disruption in brain activation patterns to a working memory task during cocaine abstinence.

Cocaine abstinence is associated with impaired performance in cognitive functions including attention, vigilance and executive function. Here we test the hypothesis that cognitive dysfunction during cocaine abstinence reflects in part impairment of cortical and subcortical regions modulated by dopamine. We used functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to study brain activation to a verbal working memory task in cocaine abusers (n=16) and healthy controls (n=16). Compared to controls, cocaine abusers showed: (1) hypoactivation in the mesencephalon, where dopamine neurons are located, as well as the thalamus, a brain region involved in arousal; (2) larger deactivation in dopamine projection regions (putamen, anterior cingulate, parahippocampal gyrus, and amygdala); and (3) hyperactivation in cortical regions involved with attention (prefrontal and parietal cortices), which probably reflects increased attention and control processes as compensatory mechanisms. Furthermore, the working memory load activation was lower in the prefrontal and parietal cortices in cocaine abusers when compared with controls, which might reflect limited network capacity. These abnormalities were accentuated in the cocaine abusers with positive urines for cocaine at time of study (as compared to cocaine abusers with negative urines) suggesting that the deficits may reflect in part early cocaine abstinence. These findings provide evidence of impaired function of regions involved with executive control, attention and vigilance in cocaine abusers. This widespread neurofunctional disruption is likely to underlie the cognitive deficits during early cocaine abstinence and to reflect involvement of dopamine as well as other neurotransmitters.

Differentiation of glucose transport in human brain gray and white matter.

Localized 1H nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy has been applied to determine human brain gray matter and white matter glucose transport kinetics by measuring the steady-state glucose concentration under normoglycemia and two levels of hyperglycemia. Nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopic measurements were simultaneously performed on three 12-mL volumes, containing predominantly gray or white matter. The exact volume compositions were determined from quantitative T1 relaxation magnetic resonance images. The absolute brain glucose concentration as a function of the plasma glucose level was fitted with two kinetic transport models, based on standard (irreversible) or reversible Michaelis-Menten kinetics. The steady-state brain glucose levels were similar for cerebral gray and white matter, although the white matter levels were consistently 15% to 20% higher. The ratio of the maximum glucose transport rate, V(max), to the cerebral metabolic utilization rate of glucose, CMR(Glc), was 3.2 +/- 0.10 and 3.9 +/- 0.15 for gray matter and white matter using the standard transport model and 1.8 +/- 0.10 and 2.2 +/- 0.12 for gray matter and white matter using the reversible transport model. The Michaelis-Menten constant K(m) was 6.2 +/- 0.85 and 7.3 +/- 1.1 mmol/L for gray matter and white matter in the standard model and 1.1 +/- 0.66 and 1.7 +/- 0.88 mmol/L in the reversible model. Taking into account the threefold lower rate of CMR(Glc) in white matter, this finding suggests that blood--brain barrier glucose transport activity is lower by a similar amount in white matter. The regulation of glucose transport activity at the blood--brain barrier may be an important mechanism for maintaining glucose homeostasis throughout the cerebral cortex.

Monte Carlo simulation of dose distributions from a synchrotron-produced microplanar beam array using the EGS4 code system.

Microbeam therapy is established as a general concept for brain tumour treatment. A synchrotron based x-ray source was chosen for experimental research into microbeam therapy, and therefore new simulations were essential for investigating the therapy parameters with a proper description of the synchrotron radiation characteristics. To design therapy parameters for tumour treatments, the newly upgraded LSCAT (Low energy SCATtering) package of the EGS4 Monte Carlo simulation code was adapted to develop an accurate self-written user code for calculating microbeam radiation dose profiles with a precision of 1 microm. LSCAT is highly suited to this purpose due to its ability to simulate low-energy x-ray transport with detailed photon interactions (including bound electron incoherent scattering functions, and linear polarized coherent scattering). The properties of the synchrotron x-ray microbeam, including its polarization, source spectrum and beam penumbra, were simulated by the new user codes. Two concentric spheres, an inner sphere, defined as a brain, and a surrounding sphere, defined as a skull, represented the phantom. The microbeam simulation was tested using a 3 x 3 cm array beam for small treatment areas and a 6 x 6 cm array for larger ones, with different therapy parameters, such as beam width and spacing. The results showed that the microbeam array retained an adequate peak-to-valley ratio, of five times at least, at tissue depths suitable for radiation therapy. Dose measurements taken at 1 microm resolution with an 'edge-on' MOSFET validated the basics of the user code for microplanar radiation therapy.

Is 1 Hz rTMS Always Inhibitory in Healthy Individuals?

1 Hz repetitive Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (rTMS) is considered to have an inhibitory effect in healthy people because it suppresses the excitability of the motor or visual cortex that is expressed as an increase in the motor or the phosphene threshold (PT), respectively. However, the underlying mechanisms and the brain structures involved in the action of rTMS are still unknown. In this study we used two sessions of simultaneous TMS-functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), one before and one after, 15 minutes of 1Hz rTMS to map changes in brain function associated with the reduction in cortical excitability of the primary visual cortex induced by 1 Hz rTMS, when TMS was applied on the occipital area of healthy volunteers. Two groups were evaluated, one group composed of people that can see phosphenes, and another of those lacking this perception. The inhibitory effect, induced by the 1 Hz rTMS, was observed through the increase of the PT, in the first group, but did not lead to a global reduction in brain activation, instead, showed change in the activation pattern before and after rTMS. Conversely, for the second group, changes in brain activation were observed just in few brain areas, suggesting that the effect of 1 Hz rTMS might not be inhibitory for everyone and that the concept of inhibitory/excitatory effect of rTMS may need to be revised.

Simultaneous TMS-fMRI of the Visual Cortex Reveals Functional Network, Even in Absence of Phosphene Sensation.

Phosphene sensation is commonly used to measure cortical excitability during transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) of the occipital cortex. However, some individuals lack this perception, and the reason for it is still unknown. In this work, we used functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to detect brain activation during local TMS of the occipital cortex in twelve healthy subjects. We found that TMS modulated brain activity in areas connected to the stimulation site, even in people unable to see phosphene. However, we observed a trend for a lower blood-oxygenation-level dependent (BOLD) signal, and smaller brain-activation clusters near the stimulated site than in the interconnected brain areas, suggesting that TMS pulse is more effective downstream than at its application site. Furthermore, we noted prominent differences in brain activation/deactivation patterns between subjects who perceived phosphene and those who did not, implying a functional distinction in their neuronal networks that might explain the origin of differences in phosphene generation.

Liking and wanting of drug and non-drug rewards in active cocaine users: the STRAP-R questionnaire.

Few studies have examined the subjective value attributed to drug rewards specifically as it compares with the value attributed to primary non-drug rewards in addicted individuals. The objective of this study is to assess 'liking' and 'wanting' of expected 'drug' rewards as compared to 'food' and 'sex' while respondents report about three different situations ('current', and hypothetical 'in general', and 'under drug influence'). In all, 20 cocaine-addicted individuals (mean abstinence = 2 days) and 20 healthy control subjects were administered the STRAP-R (Sensitivity To Reinforcement of Addictive and other Primary Rewards) questionnaire after receiving an oral dose of the dopamine agonist methylphenidate (20 mg) or placebo. The reinforcers' relative value changed within the addicted sample when reporting about the 'under drug influence' situation (drug > food; otherwise, drug < food). This change was highest in the addicted individuals with the youngest age of cocaine use onset. Moreover, 'drug' 'wanting' exceeded 'drug' 'liking' in the addicted subjects when reporting about this situation during methylphenidate. Thus, cocaine-addicted individuals assign the highest subjective valence to 'drug' rewards but only when recalling cue-related situations. When recalling this situation, they also report higher 'drug' 'wanting' than hedonic 'liking', a motivational shift that was only significant during methylphenidate. Together, these valence shifts may underlie compulsive stimulant abuse upon pharmacological or behavioural cue exposure in addicted individuals. Additional studies are required to assess the reliability of the STRAP-R in larger samples and to examine its validity in measuring the subjective value attributed to experienced reinforcers or in predicting behaviour.

Characteristics of lipid peroxidative conduction block induced by an organic hydroperoxide in axons of isolated frog nerve.

The direct effects of lipid peroxidation on axonal conduction were investigated by application of tertiary-butyl hydroperoxide (t-BOOH) to the isolated common peroneal nerve of the frog (Rana catesbeiana). The powerful oxidizing agent t-BOOH caused a concentration-related (0.03-3.0%) block of action potential conduction. This effect, presumably due to axonal lipid peroxidation, was progressive, with the time required for the conduction impairment to occur also being a function of t-BOOH concentration. In contrast, tertiary butyl alcohol had no effect even at a 3.0% concentration. The gamma-fibers in the nerve were the most sensitive to t-BOOH conduction block, followed in order by the larger diameter beta-fibers and the even larger alpha-fibers. The rate of decrease in conduction was faster in nerves that were stimulated continuously (1 Hz) than in those that were activated only at specific measurement times, indicating an association between axonal depolarization and susceptibility to peroxidative conduction block. Recovery of conduction was observed particularly in alpha- and beta-fibers. The rate and extent of recovery were inversely proportional to the concentration of t-BOOH, suggesting that moderate peroxidative damage is potentially reversible. The possible relationship of these results to lipid peroxidative axonal damage in acute central nervous system injury is discussed.

Risk factors for white matter changes detected by magnetic resonance imaging in the elderly.

We found increased age (p = 0.001) and history or evidence of stroke (p = 0.016) to be significant independent multivariate predictors of the presence and severity of leukoencephalopathy on magnetic resonance imaging brain scans in a mixed population of 35 elderly psychiatric patients and 25 neurologically healthy elderly volunteers. These results suggest that subcortical ischemia, as well as age-related changes that may not be vascular in origin, contribute to the emergence of periventricular and other deep white matter hyperintensities that are commonly seen on the magnetic resonance imaging brain scans of older adults.

Equilibrium transcytolemmal water-exchange kinetics in skeletal muscle in vivo.

It is commonly assumed that equilibrium transcytolemmal water exchange in tissue is sufficiently frequent as to be fast on any NMR time scale achievable with an extracellular contrast agent (CR) in vivo. A survey of literature values for cell membrane diffusional permeability coefficients (P) and cell sizes suggests that this should not really be so. To evaluate this issue experimentally, we used a programmed intravenous CR infusion protocol for the rat with several rate plateaus, each of which achieved an increased steady-state concentration of GdDTPA(2-) in the blood plasma. Interleaved rigorous measurements of (1)H(2)O inversion recoveries were made from arterial blood and from a region of homogeneous thigh muscle tissue throughout the CR infusion. We made careful relaxographic analyses for the blood and muscle (1)H(2)O longitudinal relaxation times. The combined data from several animals were evaluated with a two-site model for equilibrium transcytolemmal water exchange. An excellent fitting was achieved, with parameters that agreed very well with the relevant physiological properties available in the literature. The fraction of water in the extracellular space, 0.11, is quite consistent with published values, as well as with reported tissue CR concentrations when one accounts for the restriction of CR to this space. The derived average lifetime for a water molecule in the thigh muscle sarcoplasm, 1.1 +/- 0.4 sec, implies a sarcolemmal P of 13 x 10(-4) cm/sec, which is well within the range of literature values determined in vitro. Moreover, we find that because of the exchange, the (1)H(2)O longitudinal relaxation rate constant exhibits a decided nonlinear dependence on the tissue or thermodynamic (extracellular) concentration of GdDTPA(2-). The muscle system departs the fast-exchange limit at a [CR] value of <100 micromol/L. This has significant implications for the quantitative use of CRs as MRI tracers. Magn Reson Med 42:467-478, 1999. Published 1999 Wiley-Liss, Inc.

Spectroscopic imaging of the uptake kinetics of human brain ethanol.

Previous measurements of the ratio of brain to venous blood alcohol have ranged from 21-100%, depending on the experimental model, pulse sequence, and the concentration reference used. The goal of this study was to evaluate the uptake kinetics and visibility of brain ethanol in comparison to venous blood levels using a pulse sequence that minimizes uncertainties due to differences in J-modulation, T(1), and T(2) between ethanol and the concentration standard. This was achieved using a short TE (24 msec) spin echo sequence with a semiselective refocusing pulse to minimize J-modulation losses of the ethanol. Brain ethanol levels were measured with 10-min time resolution using a 16 x 16 spectroscopic imaging matrix with nominal voxels of 1.44 cc. During the course of the study, the brain/blood alcohol ratio declined from a value of 1.54 +/- 0.74 at 35 min after drinking to a final value of 0.93 +/- 0.16 at 85 min postdrinking. Magn Reson Med 42:1019-1026, 1999.

Measurements of human brain ethanol T(2) by spectroscopic imaging at 4 T.

Previous MRS measurements of ethanol in human brain have yielded a range of transverse relaxation times for ethanol methyl resonance at 1.5 T (200-380 ms). To determine the T(2) of the methyl proton resonance of ethanol in human brain, 8 x 8 spectroscopic images were acquired at 16 different TE values. A frequency-selective refocusing pulse was used to suppress J-modulation of the ethanol triplet, permitting nonintegral multiples of 1/J to be used for TE values. The measured T(2) values for the methyl resonances of ethanol, creatine, and N-acetyl aspartate in mixed tissues were 82 +/- 12, 148 +/- 20, and 227 +/- 25 ms, respectively. Regression analysis of the measured T(2) as a function of gray matter content indicates a shorter T(2) value for ethanol in pure white matter compared to that in pure gray matter. Magn Reson Med 44:35-40, 2000.